Got a whole sack 'o new stuff to try, got a rod n reel loaded up
with 10 colors of leadcore, a couple of my regular rigs with a 1/4 oz
tungsten weight above the snap, a new lure to try, and some new rigging
ideas - if it works out I'll show ya.
Ought to keep me busy most of the day if'n the water lice don't get
too thick

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Shoals Area Crappie Association

knock em dead, JW i'm goin after em tomorrow too

Let us know how the new stuff works.........

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Meet a resonable man halfway everytime....don't meet an unresonable man at all.

sounds as tho you've been burning the sawdust, ole buddy. maybe bad weather will keep the lake empty for ya. good luck.

Well, don't know where to start

Tried my new $$$ crankbait out, good thing I sat and drained a couple of
beers looking at it Sat. night, 'cause I got to pull it about 500' before
I lost it... either a gar bit it off, OR the 1/4 oz tungsten weight riding
against a bead against the snap cut the line
It was just wigglin' it's little butt off, then POOF slack line - not a sign
of anything, just slack. And of course it didn't float up - I trolled around
looking for it for a half hour, then finally remembered it was a suspending bait,
so it probably DIDN'T come up

The leadcore is interesting, like I suspected beforehand, my best use for
it is probably going to be either two or three colors run as a segment
behind boards. I mangaged to get a tiny little shallow diver down past 20'
pretty easy with just 3 colors out. Takes about 8 to get down to 45'
with a #5 shad rap - thats just a little more line out than I like running
(8 colors = 240 feet)

Anyway, fish didn't want to play right, about give myself a headache
trying so hard - tried new stuff, old stuff, made up some stuff.
Only way I could get anything was to hold a jig vertical in front of their
face (25' deep over 30') and once ever hour or so one would feel sorry
for me and thump it. Threw everything at 'em but the kitchen sink -
hair, maribou, plastic, even a jigging spoon - and I'd of loved to of had some
minnows Betcha I have a dozen or three for backup next weekend.
Fish acted like they did last October - early fall pattern???

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Shoals Area Crappie Association

After the last few trips foolin' with the hard baits, I'll never go without'em again.....NEVER!!!!!!

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If I Ain't Crappie Fishin', I'm Thinkin' About It

Jeff.... I hoped you would have had more success Saturday, but a day on the water is better than sitting at home anytime. Suspending baits will float to the top eventually even if the water is a little rough.......my guess that bait you stared at Saturday night is hanging in the jaw of some unsuspecting fish. We rarely lose our hard baits but when we do its usually because we were lazy and didn't check our lines and knots......you have to do that regular when using lighter lines. Never caught a gar trolling a deep crank or had the worm weight cut the line, but if you have large stripers or hybrids in the water your fishing their hard mouths will break you off without a moments notice. I tried lead core lines a few years back after fishing the Great Lakes area with a friend of mine for Lake Trout and Salmon.....they used lead core lines alot as well as down riggers. Thought this might work on those deep summer crappie back home. Never could find a practical application for the line;eventhough, it did work after some lengthly experimentation. I think the lakes and fish around here are just not deep enough to justify the extra trouble of the lead core lines, but maybe improvements in lead cores will make them easier to fool with and you'll find a way to make them really productive,and start a new and better way to troll. Hope you had fun anyway ...... sometimes its not about the fish.

__________________
Meet a resonable man halfway everytime....don't meet an unresonable man at all.

Well... not wanting to argue, but I was watching the rod tip wiggle
as it just went slack - no jerk, bounce, nothing - and it was new 12 lb line,
fresh tied knot. End of the line was frayed, like cut on an angle.

By any chance, the
tungsten weights you're using, are they the ones with a sleeve in 'em to
protect the line? The one I had was one of the first ones that came out,
I've had them for years. No sleeve, but I did call myself looking it over for sharp edges.

Reason I ask, is I had a pm from another member this morning that had
a similar experience over the weekend, multiple baits lost.

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Shoals Area Crappie Association

Really doesn't make sense but anythings possible. Some of the weights I buy are from BPS and are the Tru-tungsten brand that come in an assortment of colors.....I use the green ones mostly. The weights are sleeveless and I use tungsten because I can downsize and still get the bait down where I want it to. I've been using these weights with 4-6lb test for the past two years and have not experienced a problem of any kind. Before that I used regular lead worm weights. You do have to make sure the hooks of the crank bait don't flip up on the weight or line....I eliminate that problem by not casting.....either flip the bait out a few feet from the boat or drop it in the water and feed the line out. You can also put the weight above a barrel swivel a couple of feet from the crank bait. I wish I could be of more help.

__________________
Meet a resonable man halfway everytime....don't meet an unresonable man at all.

Hey, no problem I may have created more problem than I solved
by adding the bead - maybe instead of wiggling in time with the bait,
it gave it more room to "saw"? Anyway, I like the idea of a little weight,
it opens up more lures to try. Lots of stuff I like the looks of doesn't
run quite deep as I'd like at times.

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Shoals Area Crappie Association